U.S. Secret Service agents shot and wounded a gunman near the Washington Monument Monday afternoon in an incident that injured a teenage bystander and raised new questions about security in the heart of the U.S. capital.
Gunfire erupted near the White House just weeks after the Correspondents’ Dinner shooting
A burst of gunfire erupted near the Washington Monument on Monday, less than two weeks after a separate armed incident at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, raising concerns about the security environment surrounding the US executive complex. The latest episode took place in an area heavily visited by tourists and commuters and came shortly before Vice President JD Vance’s motorcade traveled the same stretch of road.
None of the law enforcement officers were injured. The suspect was hospitalized with multiple gunshot wounds and a 15-year-old boy who was caught in the crossfire was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
What happened Monday near the Washington Monument
Plainclothes officers conducting exterior patrols around the White House identified a suspicious person near the Washington Monument at approximately 3:30 p.m. EDT. Deputy Director of the Secret Service Matt Quinn said at a press conference near the scene that the man was wearing the “visual imprint” of a firearm.
When uniformed Secret Service officers approached the suspect, he fled. Quinn said the suspect then opened fire on the agents, who returned fire, hitting him. The man was subsequently arrested and taken to hospital. A firearm was found at the scene.
A 15-year-old boy nearby was also shot. Quinn told reporters that investigators believe the teenager was hit by the shooter rather than the agents. “Everything I’ve seen leads me and the investigator to believe he was hit by the suspect,” Quinn said. He later appeared to qualify that statement when put to it. “We’ll leave it to the doctors,” he said.
Was President Trump or Vice President Vance in danger?
Neither the president nor the vice president were in immediate danger, officials said. Trump was hosting an event at the White House at the time of the shooting. As a precaution, the Secret Service directed reporters on the North Lawn to a press conference room.
Vance’s motorcade passed through the area shortly before the confrontation occurred. Quinn confirmed the timing, but it was clear that investigators do not believe the suspect approached or threatened the motorcade. The suspect was not on the White House grounds, although Quinn acknowledged he was “not far at all.”
Chris McDonald, the congressional spokesman for the Secret Service, wrote in an email to Congress after the episode: “President Trump was not in any danger and there is no known connection between the incident and the White House at this time.”
Is this incident related to the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner?
The question of whether Monday’s shooting was related to the April 25 White House Correspondents’ Dinner attack was put directly to Quinn. He declined to make any connection. “I can’t say. I won’t guess,” he said.
The Correspondents’ Dinner incident took place at the Washington Hilton Hotel, where a gunman attempted to breach a security checkpoint and exchanged fire with law enforcement. Video footage released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation indicates the suspect fired at a Secret Service agent before officers returned fire. The shooter was not hit, but was immediately arrested. He has since been charged with attempting to assassinate the president, with prosecutors saying he targeted members of the Trump administration.
Monday’s episode began at approximately 3:30 p.m. near the intersection of 15th Street Southwest and Independence Avenue. This is nine days after the attack on the Correspondents’ Dinner.
Washington locked down as traffic and tourists were caught in the chaos
The immediate aftermath of the shooting brought significant disruption to downtown Washington. The Metropolitan Police Department closed a wide stretch of streets east of the Washington Monument for several hours, snarling traffic and blocking access to major highway bridges connecting the District of Columbia to Northern Virginia across the Potomac River.
Dozens of police officers and a significant number of National Guardsmen in green uniforms flooded the area. Hundreds of National Guard members remain in Washington following their deployment in August after the Trump administration took over oversight of the city’s police department.
The police department confirmed in a social media post that its officers were on the scene and that road closures would remain in place for several hours. Quinn confirmed that the Metropolitan Police Department is continuing to investigate the incident.
The breach took place during what officials described as a clear spring afternoon, with a large number of tourists in the area around the memorial at the time of the shooting.
